Australian tycoon fined for Arctic party cruise

An Australian tycoon, Paul McDonald, has been fined £6,300 by Canadian
authorities after an alcohol-fuelled party cruise in the Arctic which
included serving liquor to a minor and illegally shooting fireworks.

The passengers reportedly harassed musk ox on the trip to the ArcticPhoto: Getty

By Jonathan Pearlman in Sydney

1:48PM BST 03 Oct 2012

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police boarded his 100-foot, seven-stateroom luxury yacht early last month and reportedly seized 200 bottles of alcohol and almost £10,000 worth of illegal fireworks.

He was charged with one count of providing liquor to a minor and one count of being an unauthorised possession of liquor.

The yacht, stationed in the tiny 1500-person indigenous Nunavut community of Cambridge Bay in remote northern Canada, was highly conspicuous. Various claims have been made about the wild behaviour of the yacht's passengers – though Mr McDonald on Wednesday issued a blanket statement denying all "allegations" except for the liquor and firework offences.

The local Nunatsiaq News said the ship hosted "a wild party where men overwhelmingly outnumbered women" and in which an under age girl dived overboard into the freezing waters.

The passengers also reportedly harassed musk ox – an Arctic mammal – on a nearby mountain.

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Mr McDonald, from Noosa in Queensland, was circumnavigating North America in his yacht, the Fortrus. He recently received £52 million for the sale of a quarries business in Queensland and owns stakes in numerous Australian companies.

In a statement issued via his lawyers, Mr McDonald expressed "regret" over the firework and liquor offences but denied a report that an initial cheque to the Canadian police bounced.

"Mr McDonald regrets he was not familiar with the local laws or the restriction on fireworks or liquor at the time of the alleged incident," the statement said.

"Mr McDonald confirms fines were issued for possession of illegal fireworks and alcohol and are due for payment by 15 November 2012 ... Mr McDonald confirms that payment of the fines will be made in full by the due date for payment in satisfaction of his obligations. Further, on receipt of payment in full by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police he will not be required to return to face any further proceedings in relation to those fines."

The statement added: "All other allegations are expressly denied. Mr McDonald has instructed his lawyers to consider action against any false allegations that may impact on his reputation."